Brian Orakpo wants to return for “title shot” in Washington

Posted by Josh Alper on December 5, 2013, 8:54 AM EDT

AP

Linebacker Brian Orakpo has 5.5 sacks in his last four games, which means he’s heating up while the Redskins season continues to melt down.

It’s too late to help the Redskins, but the late flourish should be a good thing for Orakpo. He’ll be a free agent when the year comes to an end and he’s showing potential suitors that he can still be a productive pass rusher. Orakpo said Wednesday that he isn’t thinking about his contract situation outside of a desire to remain in Washington beyond this season.

“Right now this is home,” Orakpo said, via the Washington Post. “So I would love to continue to finish my career as a Redskin. Obviously we’re 3-9 so it’s a disappointing season. But that doesn’t take away from what I know we’re capable of. If we get our core guys back, add a few people here and there with all the money that we’re receiving back from all the salary-cap issues that we had, I think we’ll be up for running at another title shot again the following year. But like I said, we’ve got to finish this last quarter and then everything else will take care of itself with the contracts and with who’s here, who’s not, stuff like that.”

Orakpo is one of many free agents on the Redskins defense, which guarantees a different look on that side of the ball next season. How different will be determined, at least in part, by any changes to the coaching staff or front office after the Redskins complete their crash and burn this season.

Fire the defensive coordinator and get someone in there that can really get the most out of players like Orakpo and Kerrigan. This might mean going back to the 4-3 but its not like you can’t go to a 3-4 in certain situations.